The Iceland Report Begins! Center Hotel Plaza Review

Last October I saw someone tweet about a great deal on a package trip to Iceland. I found a friend crazy enough to go with me and booked it! It was an incredibly reasonable trip including airfare, hotel, breakfast and tours. My friend and I wanted to attempt to see the Northern Lights, so we decided to go at the end of January/early February. Crazy? Maybe.  But wait to make your decision after you read the trip report.

We arrived in Iceland very early in the morning local time. We were somewhat exhausted from our overnight flight with minimal sleep, but had to get to the hotel. Keflavik Airport was a nice first impression of Iceland. Clean with lots of shops and restaurants. We stopped quickly to withdraw cash. I used the airport ATM and pulled out a little from my Bluebird account for a $2 fee. Not bad! We found out almost everywhere we went accepted credit cards, so the cash wasn’t really necessary. But better safe than sorry.

We added on transportation from Keflavik into Reykjavik  using the fly bus when we booked our trip. It took about 45 minutes. I was excited to find the bus had wifi, it made the trip go very quickly even though it was too dark to see anything outside the windows. We arrived into downtown Reykjavik around 7am. Our hotel, the Center Hotel Plaza, very understandably did not have a room ready yet. They gave us the option to check in early for 40 euro. Since it included the chance to grab breakfast that morning and relax in the hotel for a bit we went for it!

The room was basic but perfect for our trip. We had two twin beds.

Center Plaza Hotel Room

The rest of the room contained a desk, chair and tv.

Center Plaza Hotel Room

Our only complaint was that it had the style of shower where it seems entirely impossible to shower without getting water everywhere in the bathroom. Maybe Americans are just messy shower takers? I don’t get it.

Center Plaza Hotel Bathroom

The hotel’s location was great. Right near the harbor for our Northern Lights tour, but also right near many restaurants and stores for easy access – which is important when it is snowing and you’re from Florida!

Breakfast in the hotel was also great and included breads, fruits, eggs, sausage and some amazing cookies occasionally. Unfortunately I didn’t think to take any pictures, as the breakfast area was often crowded. The other hotel guests seemed to come from all over, a high majority being European. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the hotel. The location was nice, the staff was friendly and helpful and many of our tours picked us up right at our hotel.